In the design of industrial floor cleaners, it is common to mount scrub members (i.e., scrub brushes or pads) and their drive motors in an assembly called a scrub head. The scrub head generally spans a width of the cleaner and can be mounted in front of, underneath amidships, or behind the machine frame. The scrub head is commonly attached in some articulated manner to the frame of the machine so that the scrub members can be raised for transport and lowered to the floor to perform cleaning operations.
During floor cleaning operations, water or cleaning liquid is applied to the floor either in front of or at the scrub head. The scrub members scrub the wetted floor to remove dirt from the floor. A vacuumized squeegee, located behind the scrub head, operates to remove the soiled liquid from the floor.
The scrub members often wear quickly and must be inspected on a regular basis to determine whether they require replacement. Scrub members positioned adjacent the sides of the cleaner are generally easily accessible making for easy inspection and replacement of those members.
However, for some floor cleaners, particularly larger cleaners that include one or more scrub brushes that are centrally positioned beneath the cleaner, inspecting the scrub brushes can be cumbersome. In general, the operator must either raise the cleaner on a lift, or get down on the floor and partially underneath the cleaner to reach the centrally located scrub members. Additionally, the operator must often feel for the mechanism that releases the scrub member from the scrub head since it is difficult to visually locate it when lying underneath the cleaner.
Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these and other problems, and offer other advantages over the prior art.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.